145 N. Loomis Avenue
The H. C. Howard House
The H. C. Howard House, located at 145 N. Loomis Avenue in the Loomis Addition, will be one of the oldest homes included in the Historic Homes Tour on September 14th, hosted by the Poudre Landmarks Foundation. But despite the fact that H. C. Howard’s name was used when the house was landmarked in the 1995, I have yet to find any original source documentation that verifies that connection. So, while I keep digging deeper to get at the root of who built and first lived in this house, I’ve decided to share a few other tidbits that I’ve learned about this property so far. What follows are three “clippings” from old newspapers as well as some architectural info. from the Loomis Addition Historic Context that was published by Mary Humstone in 2015.
From the February 8, 1905
Fort Collins Weekly Courier
Barnes-Button.
One of the keenest surprises of the season was the marriage on Saturday evening of Miss Alice M. Button and Mr. Fred E. Barnes of this city. So close bad the contracting parties kept their secret that not a soul other than themselves, knew or had real good grounds for suspecting that they thought of being married an hour before the ceremony took place. The wedding occurred at the home of the bride, 145 N. Loomis avenue, at 7 o’clock in the evening, Rev. J. W. Skinner officiating. It was a quiet but very pretty home wedding, the guests being confined to immediate relatives of the bride, the groom having no relatives in this vicinity. Mr. and Mrs. Barnes departed on the evening train for Greeley, returning home on Sunday afternoon. The bride is tbe eldest daughter of C. A. Button, the well-known contractor and builder, and is an accomplished and deservedly popular young lady. The groom is the bookkeeper and cashier of the Courier Printing and Publishing company, a position he has held for the past three years, giving the greatest satisfaction. The good wishes of a multitude of ad miring friends for the health, prosperity aud happiness of these estimable young people go out in full measure and without an if or an and. The Courier office force is especially well pleased that the game of Button, Button, who’s got the Button, has terminated so happily with the Button in possession of one of the best fellows in the world.
145 N. Loomis in 1948.
145 N. Loomis in 1948.
These old assessor photos of the house are part of the amazing collection of photos at the Archive that’s part of the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery.
From the Fort Collins Weekly Courier, October 28, 1908
From the Fort Collins Courier, January 21, 1921
The Hottel House on South College
The Italianate Style
Modeled after Italian villas, but adapted to the needs of American homeowners, the Italianate style featured square, two-story blocks topped with shallow hipped roofs, tall, narrow windows with heavy window hoods, and wide, overhanging eaves, often with brackets.
Other houses in the Italianate style in Fort Collins include the Hottel House (seen at left) was located at 215 S. College which was razed in 1961 to make way for the building that now houses ACE Hardware. Abner Loomis had a house in the Italianate style at the corner of Remington and Magnolia, where 24 Fitness is now located (previously a Safeway).
145 N. Loomis is Unique in the Neighborhood
“This house features a sandstone foundation, etched stone lintels and sills, a low-pitched hipped roof, a slightly projecting two-story bay on the façade and tall, single and paired 1-over-1 windows – all common features of the Italianate style.” – Mary Humstone, “Loomis Addition Historic Context”
145 N. Loomis has changed over time
In the 1920s, this brick house was covered in stucco, likely to protect the brick. This single family house was also converted into a duplex at the time. It remained that way until 1995 when the current owners converted it back to a single family home.
Poudre Landmarks foundation
The Poudre Landmarks Foundation cares for the Avery House, which was built in 1879, and the Fort Collins Waterworks, which was built in 1883. Both of these sites are included as part of the Historic Homes Tour, so be sure to check them out!
Don’t Miss this event!
Saturday, September 14, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The tour includeas six private residences, an historic Inn, and two historic city-owned properties to tour guests. This year’s tour showcases many styles of Old Town Fort Collins historic homes built between 1879 and 1961: Victorian, Italianate, Cottage, American Foursquare, Masonry Ranch, and Minimal Traditional. The Edwards House Inn and the city-owned 1879 Avery House and 1883 Water Works are also part of the tour. The Avery House, Edwards House, and 2 of the private tour homes are accessible from the Mountain Avenue trolley. Guests visit the homes and travel between tour properties at their own pace and in any order. Knowledgeable docents guide attendees through each location, pointing out architectural features, historical highlights, and details about how each home has been preserved and upgraded over the years
ride your bike!
Have a Bike-Friendly Tour!
Our sincere thanks to the City of Fort Collins, “FC Moves” and PACE for making this the most bike-friendly tour ever! FC Moves created the bike route and loaned us the bike racks for tour day. They also donated prizes: 3 commuting kits that include a helmet, set of bike lights, bike bell and leg strap. Just fill out the Evaluation form and indicate that you rode your bike. Prizes will be awarded through the drawing from qualifying forms. PACE has generously offered us up to 50 discounted bike rides on tour day. Just download the PACE app, set up a rider profile, plug in the promo code ‘HOMESTOUR19’ and enjoy the tour!
Visiting the Fort Collins Water Works is a great opportunity to learn about local history, architecture, and the importance of water to our community.
The historic Edwards House Inn will also be open and available to tour on the September 14th.
Do we know the architect for 145 N Loomis? When was it built?
We’re not sure when the house was built, nor who built it. The ongoing theory had been that Ash Howard had it built. Ash had a saloon downtown on Laporte Avenue. The paper mentions that Ash Howard was planning a “handsome brick cottage in the Loomis Addition” with bricks piled and ready to go. (March 22, 1888, Fort Collins Courier.) Later in the year there’s mention that the painter came in to paint the place. So it’s possible that this house was Ash Howard’s and not H. C. Howard’s. But there’s still quite a bit of work to do to narrow down what happened better than that. (Just this above information was gleaned only after about 5 hours of going through old newspapers yesterday.)
THANK YOU!
By 1888 George Edward King had moved on to warmer climes?